Chapter 1: Communication, Perception, and Your Life
Chapter Objectives and Integrator Guide
After reading and thinking about this chapter, students should be able to:
Objective
Resources
1. List the benefits of studying
communication.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 3-4
Study Question 1 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 1: Exemplifying Effective Communication
Activity 1.1: This Person Is Unique
Activity 1.2: What Will this Course Do For You?
Activity 1.3: Communication Skills in Job Ads
2. Define communication and
explain the roles that
meaning and context play in
it.
Key Terms: Communication and
context.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 4-5
Study Question 2 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 2: Communication is a Process
Activity 1.3: Communication Skills in Job Ads
3. Name and describe the
components of
communication.
Key Terms: Source, receiver,
message, channel, feedback,
code, encoding, decoding, and
noise.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 6-9
Challenge Yourself: Why do I need to take a communication
course when I have been communicating all my life? (p. 8)
Study Question 3 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 3: Channels of Communication
Activity 1.4: The Big Picture
4. Name and describe the three
modes of communication.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 9-11
Figure 1.1: The Action Model of Communication
Figure 1.2: The Interaction Model of Communication
Figure 1.3: The Transaction Model of Communication
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 4: Models of Communication
Activity 1.5: Modeling Communication
Activity 1.6: Understanding Different Models of Communication
5. Describe the process of
perception and its impact on
communication.
Key Terms: Perception, selection,
organization, interpretation, active
perception, and subjective
perception.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 11-12
Study Question 4 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 5: Perception and Communication
Activity 1.7: Forming Impressions
Activity 1.8: First Impressions
6. Explain the factors that affect
and shape people’s
perceptions.
Key Terms: Perceptual constancy
and role.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 12-14
Study Question 5 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 6: Breakups and Changing Perceptions
Activity 1.9: The Perception Test
Activity 1.10: Fast Thinking
Activity 1.11: Perception of Persons
Activity 1.12: Describe What You See
Activity 1.13: Selective Attention
Activity 1.14: Selective Retention
7. Explain how and why errors
in perception occur.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 14-15
Skill Builder: Learn to Check your Perceptions (p. 15)
Study Question 6 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 7: When to Verify Perceptions
Activity 1.15: Stereotypical Thinking
Mini Prezi: Perception Checking (http://tinyurl.com/ozgc7cv)
8. Describe the ways in which
self-image and identity
management affect
communication.
Key Terms: Dialogue,
intrapersonal communication and
identity management.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 15-17
Connecting Globally: Take a vacation from social media (p. 17)
Study Question 7 (p. 18)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 8: Intrapersonal Communication
Activity 1.16: Values Auction
Activity 1.17: Ten Statements
Activity 1.18: How Do You Behave When …
Activity 1.19: Oink Like a Pig
Activity 1.20: In This Situation I Am …
Activity 1.21: Be True to Yourself
IM – 1 | 3
Chapter Outline
I. Why Study Communication?
Studying communication can…
A. Improve the way others see you.
B. Make you more sensitive in your relationships.
C. Teach you important thinking skills.
II. What is Communication?
Communication is the process of using messages to generate meanings.
Important considerations related to understanding include keeping in mind:
III. Components of Communication
A. People: communication involves both senders and receivers of
information.
B. The Message: the verbal and nonverbal expression of the idea, thought or
feeling that is communicated between senders and receivers of
information.
F. Encoding and Decoding:
i. Encoding is the process of translating an idea or a thought into
words.
ii. Decoding is the process of assigning meaning to an encoded
IM – 1 | 4
IV. Three Models of Communication
A. The action model of communication: a one-way (or linear) process in
which a source encodes a message through a channel for a receiver to
decode or interpret.
B. The interaction model of communication: This model includes everything
from the action model, but has two distinctions:
i. This model views communication as a two-way process between
senders and receivers of messages.
ii. This model recognizes the importance of feedback and context in
communicating with others.
C. The transactional model of communication:
i. This model does not distinguish between the source and the
receiver and does not see communication as a series of messages
that get sent back and forth.
ii. This model sees communication as an ongoing conversation in
which messages are sent in both directions simultaneously.
V. Perception Affects Communication
A. What is Perception? Perception is the process of using the senses to
acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation. There
are three stages to perceptions:
i. Selection: which involves the decisions we make to focus on some
stimuli – sights, sounds, smells, and other sensations – and neglect
others.
ii. Organization: means grouping stimuli into meaningful units. Stimuli
can be organized in a variety of ways, and we sometimes fill in
details about people because they share features of proximity or
similarity with other things in our minds.
iii. Interpretation: involves assigning meaning to organized stimuli.
B. What Occurs in Perception? We interact with people according to the
different perspectives and attributes that we assign them. In general
perceptions are shaped through both active and subjective processes.
i. Active perceptions: are formed when the mind engages in
selection, organization, and interpretation for new experiences and
phenomena encountered.
IM – 1 | 5
VI. Differences in Perceptions
A. Physiological Features: the physiological features that differentiate people,
B. Past Experiences: Our perspectives and experiences in the world color
the perceptions that we form.
i. Perceptual constancy: means that it is difficult to modify our
perceptions of events if past experiences have led us to see things
in a particular way.
C. Roles: The roles that we attribute to others (or the functions that people
fulfill in diverse social contexts) impact the perceptions we form and how
we communicate with others.
D. Present Feelings: What we are going through and how we feel at any
particular time affects the perceptions.
VII. Errors in Perception
Many types of perceptual errors exist. The most common errors are based in
stereotypes. Perception checking can help reduce the errors in perception
formation.
A. Stereotypes: occur when we make a hasty generalization about a group
based on a judgment about an individual from a group.
B. Perception Checking: is the process of describing, interpreting, and
verifying our perceptions with others to ensure we understand people and
their messages more accurately.
VIII. Self-Image and Communication
How you see yourself impacts the way you communicate with others.
A. Viewing communication as a dialogical process means seeing our
interactions as a conversation, discussion or negotiation with both the self
and others.
IM – 1 | 7
Discussion Starters
1. Exemplifying Effective Communication: Review the seven areas of benefit to
2. Communication Is a Process: Your textbook defines communication as the
process of establishing shared meaning that depends upon proper interpretation of
messages occurring in a context. Sometimes we fail to establish shared meaning or
3. Channels of Communication: Consider a time when someone has interacted with
you and perhaps chose the wrong channel for what they wanted to say to you. For
example, has someone ever gotten upset with you through e-mail or text messages
4. Models of Communication: One prominent feature embedded within the
transactional model of communication is simultaneously sending and receiving both
verbal and nonverbal messages. Sometimes people use more indirect and
nonverbal means of communicating versus direct and verbal means of conveying
5. Perception and Communication: Consider two first dates that you have gone on:
one that was successful and one that was unsuccessful. How did the selection of
the venue for the date, the clothing of your date, and everything in the environment
contribute to the perceptions that you took away when communicating on the date
IM – 1 | 8
6. Breakups and Changing Perceptions: How do you deal with breakups? Can you
easily shift your perceptions and interactions with someone that you have been
romantic with, from relational partner to friend? Or, do you find you have difficulty
7. When to Verify Perceptions: Consider a recent time when someone upset you. Do
you think verifying perceptions with this person could have possibly led to increased
8. Intrapersonal Communication: Are there times when you have interacted with
someone and you can tell that something they are telling you has clearly been
rehearsed in their mind? When can more internal rehearsal be both helpful to how
IM – 1 | 9
Activities
ACTIVITY 1.1 THIS PERSON IS UNIQUE
Purpose: Students should be able to name all the members of the class and identify
the unique characteristics of at least half of the class.
Procedure: Divide the students into groups of four or five. Tell the students that their
task is to become acquainted. In their conversations, they should try to discover
something that makes each person unique. After about fifteen minutes, have each
student introduce another until everyone has been introduced. Each introduction should
tell as much about the other individual as possible, especially what makes that person
Debriefing: After everyone has been introduced, test the students’ ability to remember
the names of their classmates. Point to each individual, and have the class call out his
or her name. This activity’s primary value is for the students to become acquainted and,
thus, establish rapport. It also can be used as a foundation for a discussion of self-
concept in the latter part of the chapter.
IM – 1 | 10
ACTIVITY 1.2 WHAT WILL THIS COURSE DO FOR YOU?
Purpose: To encourage students to think about the positive gains they can make in a
class where they will be required to give graded public speeches.
Procedure: In a graded or un-graded written assignment, have students between class
meetings write down at least five advantages this course could bring to them personally,
Debriefing: The act of stating in class the best things the course can do for the
students is a positive and even energizing activity. It moves the class away from,
perhaps, being simply a required or feared course in which students have to give
speeches, to a recognition of the practical advantages of the course for the rest of their
lives.
IM – 1 | 11
ACTIVITY 1.3 COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN JOB ADS
Purpose: To help students see the demand for communication skills training as a
professional skill in demand among employers, and how completing an introduction to
human communication course can be a stepping stone to advanced career
development.
Procedure: Save the classified ads or the job advertisements section of your local
newspaper for a few days. You might also try the classified ads section from a nearby
regional or national paper. You can also use online classified ads from places like
craigslist. Put your students into groups of 4-5 and then give them a few
advertisements to look at. Ask the students to highlight anytime they see terms that
reflect communication skills training, such as communication, teamwork, customer
Debriefing: The process of looking at actual job advertisements helps student to see in
a very explicit and practical way how communication skills training is an important area
and also a very marketable area of study. Students also see how learning more about
the different contexts in which communication occurs can translate into different
possible career opportunities.
IM – 1 | 12
Activity 1.4 THE BIG PICTURE
Purpose: Students should be able to observe and understand essential components in
communication and witness illustrations of people, the message, the channel, feedback,
code, encoding and decoding, and noise.
Procedure: Divide the class into small groups of three to five students. Assign each
group one or two components for which students will be responsible. Allow ample time
As students prepare to share their insights about the components of communication
with the class they should comment on the term or concept that the film illustrated, and
provide specific dialogue that addresses the term or concept. The instructor should
ensure the accuracy of interpretation throughout the discussion.
Debriefing: While many types of shows are appropriate for this activity, sitcoms and
dramas are short enough to be viewed as part of one class period and also tend to have
plots emphasizing topics relevant to communication (e.g., miscommunication, ethical
IM – 1 | 13
Activity 1.5 MODELING COMMUNICATION
Purpose: Students should be able to identify several types and models of
communication; to discuss the relationships among these models of communication,
Procedure: Assign all of the students the task of creating a model of communication.
Provide some examples to get them started. At the next meeting, divide the students
into groups of four or five and instruct them to pool their ideas and to develop one model
for their group. Have each group present its model of communication to the class.
After each group presents its model to the class, have the class identify the similarities
and differences among the models. Discussion should focus on the variables in the
models: their nature, their specificity, and the relationship among them. In addition to
Debriefing: This activity is a good introduction to the rest of the course because it
focuses attention on the communication process, on the variables that affect
IM – 1 | 14
Activity 1.6 UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
Objective: Students should be able to understand the differences in the action,
interaction, and transaction models of communication presented in the book.
Procedure: Bring several racquet balls to class. You can have one pair of students
demonstrate the differences between the models of communication at the front of the
class. If you bring enough racquet balls you can get everyone up and moving around in
the process.
Have the students demonstrate the action model of communication by having one
student take the ball and throw it to the other student to catch. Tell the students that the
ball signifies the message, and throwing it demonstrates the channel of communication.
Tell the student throwing the ball that they can send that message (or ball) over
Then, tell students that our modeling process became more complex and we started to
incorporate two-way interaction, reflected in the interaction model of communication. To
demonstrate the interactive model, have one person throw the ball to the other person,
and then have the other person return the ball by throwing it back to the first person.
For the final model, have two other people join the game. Have the same two people
throw the ball back and forth, but then have a second person send a ball to each person
at the same time, to demonstrate the simultaneous sending and receiving of messages.
Debriefing: This activity is useful for attaching a visual game to the models of
communication presented in the book. While seeing each model depicted in front of
IM – 1 | 15
Activity 1.7 FORMING IMPRESSIONS
Objective: Students should be able to identify at least one person in the class who
shares some characteristic with them; to determine what characteristics are unique to
themselves; and to discuss the effect of similarities and differences on communication.
Procedure: Have each student fold a piece of paper so that it is divided horizontally into
three fairly even sections; then have them fold the paper again so that it is divided
vertically into three fairly even sections. The folds should divide the paper into nine
sections. Ask the students to write down a characteristic about themselves in each of
the nine sections. Students may write down their religious affiliation, party affiliation,
membership groups, dislikes, likes, subject major, hobbies, class year, age, marital
Engage the class to consider what characteristics were selected by those persons who
sat down—that is, had their papers completely signed. Why were they able to identify
common characteristics? Were they focusing on the others in the classroom, making
observations, and drawing inferences about similar characteristics? Were the people
who did not get all nine squares signed surprised? Which of their characteristics did no
one else have in common with them? Did they focus on themselves or others when they
wrote down their nine characteristics? Why is it important that we focus on common
experiences and characteristics when we are communicating with others? Have the
students identify particular characteristics that affect communication directly.
Debriefing: This activity is a good introduction to the course, because it allows students
to become informally introduced to each other, and it underlines the basic definition of
IM – 1 | 16
Activity 1.8 FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Objective: Students should be able to name at least four or five other people in the
class; to identify the variables that affect their perceptions of others; and to discuss the
effect of first impressions on their communications with others.
Procedure: Divide the students into groups of four or five. This exercise works better if
both sexes are represented in each group. Give a copy of the first impressions
worksheet to each student and ask the students to complete the form according to the
instructions that follow. The activity can be repeated, if time permits, by dividing the
class into different small groups.
After the students in each group have discussed their responses to the questionnaire,
lead a class discussion about the accuracy of the impressions and the basis on which
they were formed. Was there general agreement about individuals? Why did differences
Debriefing: This activity develops a foundation for studying the self, perception,
nonverbal behavior, and stereotypes. It also serves to acquaint the students with each
other, to familiarize them with working in groups, and to establish an atmosphere for the
IM – 1 | 17
First Impressions Worksheet
Self Others
Name (initials only)
Age
Class year: (a) freshman or sophomore;
(b) junior or senior; (c) graduate student
Major subjects
Marital status: (a) single; (b) married;
(c) separated, divorced, or widowed
Home town: (a) city; (b) town; (c) farm
Residence: (a) dormitory house; (b)
sorority
or fraternity house; (c) off campus
Liberal 1 2 3 4 5 Conservative
Outgoing 1 2 3 4 5 Shy
Partier 1 2 3 4 5 Studier
Athletic 1 2 3 4 5 Not athletic
What kind of animal is this person?
Where would this person go for fun?
What kind of music would this person
like?
IM – 1 | 18
Activity 1.9 THE PERCEPTION TEST
Objective: Students should be able to identify the perceptual processes involved in
each problem; to describe the different ways in which people interpret the same stimuli;
and to state the reasons for the different interpretations.
Debriefing: When everyone has had a reasonable chance to solve the problems, ask
the students to explain their answers to each question. The students should also identify
the perceptual processes involved in each problem. (The correct answers are provided
after the handout.)
IM – 1 | 19
Perception Test
1. t n m n i b s n y s
Do these symbols have any meaning for you? Write the sentence that they form.
2. What is the relationship between the pairs of lines below?
3. Read and write out the following phrases:
Paris Snake Busy
in the in the as a
the spring the grass a beaver